January Dates

[DollBabyKG]

Hey friends!

After going twice a year for several years, we haven't been back to the Land since January 2014. We are thinking of having Santa bring a trip to the Land for Christmas this year for our 3 kids ages 9, 6 and 1. We would then go in January as I'm not touching the crowd levels during the actual Christmas week.

Initially, we thought we'd go at the end of January. Then we remembered that there are a TON of ride closures during that time, and last time we went we missed out on IASW (my daughter's favorite), and Splash Mountain, and more. Consequently, I started thinking Jan 4-8, assuming since it was after the holiday breaks for most schools, we'd still hit decent crowd levels, and hit the major rides before their historical refurb dates. But according to this calendar, predicted crowd levels are 8/10. (http://www.rmhtravel.com/disneyland-365-crowd-calendar.html) I have to admit I was pretty shocked by that, since most kiddos are back in school by then. I guess there are more Dis obsessed parents like us, willing to yank them a few extra days than I anticipated. Any guesses as to what that level is about? Or if it's even really accurate? This site lists the week as "Hey, It's Alright," which sounds much more livable than 8/10. (http://www.isitpacked.com/disneyland-crowd-forecast-predictor-calendar/)

Any ideas, or suggestions? Anyone been that first full week of January and can share their experiences?

 

[SMD]

It's the end of Christmas (the dates for this year haven't been announced yet) and the lower level APs become unblocked. People like to go see the Christmas decorations one last time. Also, several districts are not back until the second week of January. If you're looking to avoid crowds I'd suggest also skipping the Star Wars half marathon weekend as well.

 

[longtimedisneylurker]

Winter break for the LA school district goes through January 8. There are probably other school disricts in the area that are still on break as well. Plus, the Christmas stuff usually stays up at least through Three Kings Day which is January 6, so there will still be people trying to squeeze in a holiday visit.

 

[Sherry E]

To be honest, for the last few years Disneyland Resort has been ending its holiday season with a Three Kings Day celebration that lasts for at least 3 days. So I would expect that the holiday season will last through at least January 6th again, if not later.

This past January, immediately after the holiday season ended, Frozen Fun officially debuted (on January 7th). Haunted Mansion Holiday stayed open through Sunday, January 11th and then closed for the overlay removal. Shortly after Haunted Mansion reopened, It's a Small World Holiday closed (in late January) for the overlay removal. Olaf's Frozen Ice Rink and the Winter Village stayed open in Downtown Disney until February 22nd.

It's possible that Haunted Mansion Holiday could stay open through 1/10/16. I don't know if or when Frozen Fun would return, but it would not shock me if it did! So, all of those factors -- combined with kids still being out of school -- could make that first part of January a fairly busy week.

 

[NewbieMouse]

Winter break for the LA school district goes through January 8. There are probably other school disricts in the area that are still on break as well. Plus, the Christmas stuff usually stays up at least through Three Kings Day which is January 6, so there will still be people trying to squeeze in a holiday visit.

I had no idea the schools would still be out the first week of January. We purposely planned our trip this week to get away from some of the holiday crowds - I thought we'd have a few stragglers,but not the LA schools off. I'm wondering if we should go December 20-23 instead now..... Agggghhhh - I hate crowds!